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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-08-20 Minutes AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE of CLARINGTON MEETING THURSDAY, August 20 th, 2015 MEMBERS PRESENT: John Cartwright Brenda Metcalf Les Caswell Jenni Knox Don Rickard Henry Zekveld Tom Barrie Eric Bowman REGRETS: Elgin Greenham, Mary Ann Found, Councillor Partner, Ted Watson GUESTS: Laura Knox- Clarington Board of Trade (CBOT), Basia Radmonski, Communications. Municipality of Clarington (MoC) STAFF: Faye Langmaid Brenda welcomed all to the meeting, with introductions. Adoption of Agenda 015-18 Moved by Don Rickard, seconded by John Cartwright That the Agenda for August 20, 2015 be adopted th CARRIED Approval of Minutes 015-19 Moved by Les Caswell, seconded by John Cartwright July 9, 2015 meeting be approved th CARRIED Presentation/Discussion: Laura Knox provided alisting of the promotion pieces that Clarington Board of Trade and the Municipality of Clarington have with regard to agriculture (Attachment 1). Some pieces have been created for a very specific audience while others have been generated for the general public. Laura explained the various pieces that CBOT has for promotion of agriculture and responded to questions. Basia did the same for the various pieces that Clarington is responsible for. In addition, opportunities had been identified for items such as the Clarington calendar of events, tourism and how messaging can be promoted through social media such as twitter and facebook. Basia indicated that it was much better to get your message out rather than responding to a media story or negative event. As an example she discussed the recent meetings between the Mayor and Ministers at AMO about a number ofissues including protection of agricultural land, a press release had been issued and messaging on social media prior to the meeting so that residents are aware of the messages being presented to the Province. Basia stressed that it is impossible to promote what we do not know about so if there are events such as Farm Connections (even though it is not in Clarington), Agriculture calendar, so that the can be promoted. Basia provided an overview of the new website a particularly handy item is the ability to subscribe to specific notices. For committee members subscribing to the road closures might be particularly helpful. Having the Ag Advisory committee in place also helps Communications, when they are asked a question by media there is a ready source of knowledgeable spokespeople to turn to. This helps with understanding an issue and getting accurate information. The familiarization tours for staff, Councillors and CBOT directors have also been a great help in having a broader understanding of the issues. Business Arising from Minutes Tour of Colborne processing facility the tour to Colborne, there have been some delivery issues with kitchen equipment, she will follow-up and let committee members know of a tour date when it is arranged. Correspondence, etc. Letter received from CLOCA about having a representative at the strategic planning th session on September 30, Eric volunteered to attend, Brenda is alternate. Liaison Reports th Durham Agriculture Advisory CommitteeReminder about Farm Tour on Sept 18. th Durham Region Federation of Agriculture Celebrate Agriculture is October 29, call for nominations has been issued and it is hoped there will be a number of applications submitted, categories are Farm Family, Leadership Award for individual aged 19-35, Spirit of Agriculture Award to an organization or company, nominations are due th September 15. If a letter of support is required from committee please let Brenda know. DRFA had hoped to apply to Trillium for a trailer but because of the new process they have not been accepted into this round of applications. They will try again. Clarington Board of Trade Premier in town yesterday, a panel discussion with a number of local representatives, Charles Stevens brought up the discussion of including prime agriculture land in the Greenbelt. Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 20, 2015 CBOT is working on their next Strategic Plan for 5 years, hope to have a draft by year end for presentation to Board and as support for budget request for economic development function to Council. Other Business Article in Novae Res Urbis about the GTA West Route being planned by MTO, Caledon has objected to the weighting of agriculture which is 2.2% they are suggesting it be weighted at 20%. Many of the comments in the article mirror what occurred to the weighting of agricultural impacts in the 407 Environmental Assessment. Faye has contacted Caledon staff to determine what support of their position would be helpful. 015-20 Moved by Eric Bowman, seconded by Henry Zekveld e Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington support the position of the Town of Caledon regarding agricultural impacts and that they should be weighted more significantly than they have been in the EA outline by MTO on the GTA West Corridor CARRIED The display panel for the committee will be at Orono Fair in the Agriculture Building. rade of Lights permit will be obtained. UOIT is looking at providing an Agriculture Leadership Certificate Program, the questions they are asking is what sessions could be offered that the agricultural ltural community would committee members then circulate to their colleagues (agriculture community contacts) to help spread the word. Future Agendas Sara Munoz of SPCA is willing to attend a future meeting, Faye is trying to confirm her for October or December meeting. Evan Elford, New Crop Development Specialist at OMAFRA has agreed to attend th November 12 meeting to discuss hops. John Cartwright moved to Adjourn Next Meeting, October 8th, 7:30 p.m. Room 1C at Municipal Administrative Office Sara Munoz of SPCA Agricultural Advisory Committee of Clarington August 20, 2015